


Stay With Me

by NextTrickAnvils



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Pining, Pre-Timeskip | Academy Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Sickfic, Spoilers for Chapter 9
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:15:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21706576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NextTrickAnvils/pseuds/NextTrickAnvils
Summary: “Uh… hey Teach… y-you gave us all quite the scare earlier but uh… glad to see you’re still with us? I guess? I should really head out and...”“Please… don’t leave...”Claude stared at her… delirious, she was delirious that had to be it. But if she really is delirious wouldn’t it be worse to leave her alone?(Byleth falls ill, Claude stays by her side.)
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 180





	Stay With Me

They should have known something was wrong.

He should have known something was wrong.

It was obvious that Jeralt’s death had hit Teach hard but Claude and the rest of the Golden Deer didn’t realize just how hard until now.

Teach seemed sluggish during today’s class, Hilda had to point out to her when someone asked a question multiple times, and there were moments where she seemingly forgot what she was saying in the first place.

Claude couldn’t help but worry.

“Hey Teach, maybe we should end class early. You don’t seem like you’re really into the material today.” He said in a lighthearted tone

She gave a look that Claude thinks was supposed to be a glare but he’s not entirely sure.

“I don’t… I don’t know what you’re planning Claude but we will finish when the bell rings as usual.”

Lysithea spoke up, “Actually Professor, I agree with Claude. You don’t seem well...”

“I’M FINE!” Teach shouted in response

Everyone stared at her in concern, none of the Golden Deer had ever seen her snap at a student like that. Teach seemed to be lucid enough to recognize what she did and gave an apologetic look.

“I-I apologize. I shouldn’t have yelled. I’m just… I… I’m… ugh… my head...”

Claude stood up from his seat and walked towards her.

“Teach, it’s okay. Nobody’s gonna be mad at you for taking a day off...”

“Cla… sta… uhhh.”

Teach seemed to wobble on her feet and then immediately collapsed, Claude quickly catching her before she hit the ground. Right away, he could feel her burning up in his arms.

“Someone get Manuela! Raph, help me carry Teach to her room!”

Marianne and Raphael rushed over to the two of them while the rest ran to go find Professor Manuela.

Raphael gently lifted up Teach from Claude’s arms and quickly carried her to the dormitories with Marianne and Claude following behind.

When they finally arrived at Teach’s room, Raphael slowly laid their professor on top of her bed. Marianne for her part, took the chair at the desk, and sat down next to the bed as she sent pulse after pulse of healing magic to Teach. While Marianne’s magic can’t cure the illness, it could at least ease the discomfort.

Meanwhile all Claude could think of was any other moments when Teach seemed off. Now that he thinks about it, he hadn’t really seen her taking it easy since Jeralt’s death. Usually he’d find her fishing or volunteering in the greenhouse or even helping the kitchen staff between lessons and training. But lately if she wasn’t teaching, she was training and if she wasn’t training, she was teaching.

_ ‘Dammit, Teach. Why didn’t you say anything? How did we… how did  _ **_I_ ** _ not notice…’ _

It wasn’t long before the rest of the Deer arrived with Manuela, who proceeded to shoo everyone out (though not before thanking Marianne for her help.)

“I guess all we can do is wait.” Remarked Hilda in a quiet tone

The others nodded and went their separate ways for now… all except Claude.

Instead of walking away, Claude went back to Teach’s door and sat down next to it. Through the door, he could hear fabric shifting (Manuela probably getting Teach out of her armor and into something more comfortable) along with some worried mumbling.

_ “Hanneman and I told you that we’d be willing to handle the workload for you. How did you get yourself into a state like this?” _

Guess Claude and the Deer weren’t the only ones that Teach was hiding from.

Suddenly the door swung open and Manuela walked out, maybe she was getting something from the infirmary or some food for Teach.

Well whatever the reason, the door was wide open…

Once he was sure that no one else was around that could see, Claude slipped into the room and immediately saw Teach under a couple layers of blankets. If it weren’t for her heavy breathing and the red in her face, one would have thought she was just sleeping.

Claude sighs and begins to turn around. He really shouldn’t be staying in here, Manuela will probably be back soon and she’ll take better care of Teach than Claude could just standing and staring like an idi…

“Claude?”

At the sound of his name, Claude turns around and sees Teach looking at him with hazy unfocused eyes.

“Uh… hey Teach… y-you gave us all quite the scare earlier but uh… glad to see you’re still with us? I guess? I should really head out and...”

“Please… don’t leave...”

Claude stared at her… delirious, she was delirious that had to be it. But if she really is delirious wouldn’t it be worse to leave her alone?

Without thinking twice, Claude sat down in the chair next to the bed and offered his hand. He watched as Teach slowly reached for it. Despite her current state, her grip on his hand was tight. He could also feel her trying to tug him closer, so he moved himself and the chair closer and closer till his knees bumped into the bed.

At that point, Teach pulled his hand close to her face and rested against his palm. Claude could feel his cheeks heating up and turning red. If he wasn’t afraid that he’d accidentally drag her off the bed, he would have pulled his hand away.

“T-Teach?”

“Please stay… I don’t want… I don’t want to lose anyone else...” She said as tears began to well up in her eyes

Oh… okay… he sees how this is…

Claude relaxes and even swipes his thumb to catch her falling tears.

“It’s okay Teach… I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.”

He hears a small hiccup as she continues to cry.

“I… I couldn’t save him… I wasn’t… wasn’t fast enough… strong enough… tried to turn back and...”

“Tried to turn…? Teach, it wasn’t your fault, you can’t blame yourself and training yourself to exhaustion isn’t going to help.”

“It hurts… it hurts so much and… and… what if I lose you too?”

Claude gives her a comforting smile, “I’m a big boy, Teach, you don’t have to protect me.”

“But you’re...”

“Your student, I know...”

“No… you’re… you’re special to me...”

Claude’s eyes widened at her statement. She didn’t really mean that right? It was just the delirium… right?

Before he could say anything else, Teach lifted up her other hand and placed it on his cheek. Claude feels himself tense up, again afraid to move, as she starts to caress his blushing face. He sees the smallest hint of a smile on her face.

“You’re… a friend...”

A friend… y-yeah… of course that’s what she meant and she’s just feeling a little extra touchy-feely because she’s sick and grieving and vulnerable…

That thought doesn’t stop him from leaning into her touch.

“Eh heh… I’m uh… flattered. I consider you a… a friend too.”

Honestly… she’s become that and more to him… and it only took him till the Ball to realize what that really meant.

“Promise me… promise me you’ll be okay… promise you won’t leave...”

He knows he can’t promise her that but…

“I promise… just as long as you promise to take better care of yourself. I can’t stay by your bed all day you know. Now come on, go rest.”

Teach lets out a small laughing huff as she finally pulls her hands back. After a minute or two, she closes her eyes. Claude gently brushes a few strands of hair from her face and stands up… and is immediately greeted by Manuela holding a bowl of water and some towels.

“Oh! Professor Manuela… thanks for taking care of Teach… I just wanted to check up on her and… how… how long have you been standing there?”

“Around the time you were assuring her that Jeralt’s death wasn’t her fault. Don’t worry Claude, I know you’re not the kind of cad that would take advantage of an ailing woman.”

“Eh heh heh… thanks?”

Claude steps aside as Manuela walks in and places the bowl on the nightstand.

“I do have to say though: I’m glad she has you.” She remarked

“What do you mean?”

“You had to admit that Byleth was bit of an odd one when she first arrived; very curt and to the point, wasn’t very expressive. I know mercenaries tend to steel themselves for their work but still… I couldn’t help but worry if there were times where Byleth forgot that she’s still human.”

Claude stayed quiet; he couldn’t really tell Manuela the truth that he and Teach discovered in Jeralt’s journal. That she lacked a heartbeat. That even as a baby she didn’t cry or laugh or smile.

Manuela continued as she dampened one of the towels.

“But I did notice her changing over the year and honestly I think the brightest I’ve seen her smile is when she’s with her students. I suppose you all made quite an impact on her, especially you in particular Claude. So thank you for being there for her.”

Claude could feel the blush returning to his face as he tried to put his carefree mask back on.

“Yeah that’s the Golden Deer for ya, making an impact. I… uh… I should head out, let you work in peace. Let me… I mean let us know when Teach starts feeling better. Thanks again, Professor.”

He wasn’t sure if it was because he was getting rusty or if Manuela was more observant that he gave her credit for but Claude could tell she didn’t quite buy his little act.

“Alright, you have a good day, Claude.” Manuela replied with a smile and a wink

Claude stepped out of the room and slowly and carefully closed the door. Once he was sure the door was closed, Claude ran.

He got some stares from other students but at the moment, he didn’t care. When he finally reached his room, Claude shut the door and sank down against it.

_ “...You’re special to me...” _

He trusts her… he loves her… he knows that.

_ “I suppose you all made quite an impact on her, especially you in particular Claude.” _

Claude shakes his head, Teach said she saw him as a friend and besides he’s still her student. While he’s more than happy to break some rules, this is a boundary he feels he shouldn’t cross.

...And yet…

_ “...Promise you won’t leave...” _

Maybe Byleth needed Claude as much as he needed her...

**Author's Note:**

> Ya'll can find me on Tumblr @ https://nexttrickanvils.tumblr.com/ and Twitter @ https://twitter.com/NextTrickAnvils
> 
> Also if you love Claudeleth, there's a server for that ;)  
> https://discord.gg/F3H3ebr


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